Orphaned as a baby, Tessa Jasmyn, is saved by her nurse, Susannah - and taken home to her grandmother.
The selfless love Tessa felt for her grandmother was a natural, ingrained thing; her pride in her family tradition an unquestioned duty, an essential part of being a Jasmyn. But was she happy? Tessa wasn't so certain. Why did she feel this burning desire to be free of her childhood home, Barmote Hall?
Deprived of the company of other youngsters growing up, Tessa finds companionship with their groom, Reuben Bateman. However, with her grandmother's health failing and with the Jasmyn estate she will one day inherit in need of a more mature leader, Tessa's grandmother insists on an engagement with Tessa's cousin, Ashton Jasmyn, her senior by ten years.
Could Tessa come to love this man for the sake of continuing the Jasmyn name? Could she forsake her freedom for the sake of her grandmother's happiness?
As loving as her grandmother was, Tessa couldn't help but feel as though she was imprisoned by her grandmother's desires. The dismissal of Reuben, unjustified as it was, triggered a lonesomeness that set off a stream of events ...
As events unfold, the pieces of the puzzle that have been fed to Tessa come together, with shocking, life changing outcomes ... could this be what she needed to be set free?
Anna Gilbert is the pseudonym under which Marguerite Lazarus (nee Jackson) wrote her romance novels. She was the second child of a schoolmaster and she herself went on to become an English teacher at a grammar school. Other novels by Anna include The Look of Innocence, Remembering Louise, The Wedding Guest, The Long Shadow, and many more.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Used availability for Anna Gilbert's A Family Likeness